We want to avoid struggle,
Difficulties,
Disappointments,
And that which we call failure.
But no matter how clever you are,
Accomplished you are,
You will still want to cry sometimes.
As the Bible says,
In this life,
You're going to have difficulties.
Reflecting upon the idea of cause and effect,
That is,
Nothing is coincidental,
Then is our less-than-desired or sad state of affairs something we created with our thoughts and subsequent behavior,
Or is sadness a created part of the landscape of our life journey?
Did the architect of life build sadness,
Hurt,
Pain,
And disappointment into the landscape of the life journey?
To make sense of that is to unravel the question of the origin of evil.
How could a good,
Loving,
And morally perfect God create evil?
It must have come from some other way.
That's a discussion for another time.
Right now,
Let's look at disappointments and all the cousins of the aforementioned negativities on the pathway of life.
We can't avoid tribulation,
And we take a myriad of pathways to avoid sadness and to find happiness.
We choose paths that feel right,
Perhaps lucrative and promising.
When we find happiness,
We seek more happiness.
That's a no-brainer,
But can there be enough happiness?
Then dissatisfaction and disappointment show up,
And we kick and scream and struggle to get out of it,
Trying to find our way to happiness.
How did we lose happiness,
And how do we get back to it?
Perhaps the place of happiness we had simply no longer exists.
You cannot get back to it.
You can only remember it and be grateful in the moment,
For the present moment,
For the good feeling wrapped in the memory.
That's what memories are,
Looking back on what no longer exists.
You can't permanently live in the same moments of happiness.
Each moment,
No matter how sweet,
Gives place to the next,
And the next becomes the present or the now,
With all that it brings with it.
Life is dynamic.
The circle of life,
Or cycle of life,
Is ever-evolving.
New happinesses will come.
Enjoy the moment.
Looking back on a memory we've labeled wonderful,
Are we seeing the picture of the truth,
Or are we seeing the movie we created?
Would everyone in the movie tell the same story of happiness,
Joy,
And bliss?
Of course not.
Your happiness was real,
But it may,
To some degree,
Have cost someone else their happiness.
Just a thought.
Getting back to the unhappinesses of life,
Apart from all other philosophies,
This current unhappiness is a part of the path,
A distance you must pass through on life's journey.
And there are a few of them on the journey.
Like happiness,
It does not remain.
The sadness or disappointments you are experiencing has a timestamp.
Endure it.
It will pass.
Let me refer to Psalm 23.
Yes,
Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
Just as you enjoy happiness for the time,
Endure the unpleasantness for the moment.
This too shall pass.
We don't ask why when we're happy,
Or why is this joy coming to me.
We don't ask the meaning of happiness,
Or what are we to learn from it.
We are simply,
Effortlessly present in it.
You can't definitively claim to know why the happiness is happening in your life at any given moment.
There's no definitive evidence that it's a result of your labor or good decisions.
If you think that is so,
Take off your judgment robe and notice there are others who have worked equally hard and smart,
Made good decisions,
Yet find themselves in desperate and unhappy circumstances.
So then,
What is this rollercoaster journey through life about?
What is the purpose of all this up and down happiness and sad ride?
Consider that it might be to achieve balance in the mindset of your existence and in your relationship with the Divine Source of all things.
It's for your learning,
For your education,
For your elevation.
The classroom was one part of the day,
Recess was another.
Both serve a non-negotiable purpose in the education and socialization process in creating a well-rounded,
Well-balanced person.
I repeat,
The Bible says that in this world,
You will have tribulation.
That's a non-negotiable.
Tribulation can feel like a very dark place,
A place where hope and perspective can be lost.
My work is not to foretell,
Telling you what's ahead or how to avoid tribulation.
That is not possible.
My work is to shine light on your pathway,
To show you how to turn on your own light so that you can see your way through the darkness and find your own way out.
I'm Carol.
Thank you for listening.
Embrace your journey with gratitude,
And I'll see you in the Spirit next time.
